An up-to-date overview of free software and its makers
Role Models
If you are familiar with Firefox, you will appreciate the integrated direct search feature. Again, Songbird emulates its role model from the Internet world. The search field, top right in the window, does not pass your search keys to an engine like Google or Yahoo; rather, it searches the internal media store, the Songbird website, the SkreemR MP3 search service, or the The Hype Machine, a music blog aggregator. If the Songbird window with its many features takes up too much space on your desktop, you can use Mini mode, which reduces the program to a single line containing just the controls and the title of the current track.
Friends of the veteran MP3 player, XMMS, or its Windows predecessor Winamp, will be familiar with this view mode, and it is no coincidence. After all, the Songbird team not only includes former Netscape and Firefox developers, but also some migrants from the Winamp camp.
Changing Feathers
Whether you like the Songbird interface design or not is a question of taste, and there's no arguing taste. Despite this, when it comes to an application that is used primarily for pleasure, the look is very important for many users. Fortunately, if you don't like the standard skin, you can customize Songbird.
Like other music players, Songbird supports themes or skins, although the developers have chosen a more exotic term for what is basically the same thing: feathers. Right now, the official site has just 18 feathers available for download. Whether or not the community provides more will depend on the extent to which it embraces the new program (Figure 3).
Infos
- Songbird: http://getsongbird.com
- XULRunner: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/XULrunner
- GStreamer: http://www.gstreamer.net
- Songbird packages: http://wiki.songbirdnest.com/Developer/Articles/Builds/Contributed_Builds
« Previous 1 2
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Endless OS 6 has Arrived
After more than a year since the last update, the latest release of Endless OS is now available for general usage.
-
Fedora Asahi 40 Remix Available for Macs with Apple Silicon
If you've been anticipating KDE's Plasma 6 for your Apple Silicon-powered Mac, then you're in luck.
-
Red Hat Adds New Deployment Option for Enterprise Linux Platforms
Red Hat has re-imagined enterprise Linux for an AI future with Image Mode.
-
OSJH and LPI Release 2024 Open Source Pros Job Survey Results
See what open source professionals look for in a new role.
-
Proton 9.0-1 Released to Improve Gaming with Steam
The latest release of Proton 9 adds several improvements and fixes an issue that has been problematic for Linux users.
-
So Long Neofetch and Thanks for the Info
Today is a day that every Linux user who enjoys bragging about their system(s) will mourn, as Neofetch has come to an end.
-
Ubuntu 24.04 Comes with a “Flaw"
If you're thinking you might want to upgrade from your current Ubuntu release to the latest, there's something you might want to consider before doing so.
-
Canonical Releases Ubuntu 24.04
After a brief pause because of the XZ vulnerability, Ubuntu 24.04 is now available for install.
-
Linux Servers Targeted by Akira Ransomware
A group of bad actors who have already extorted $42 million have their sights set on the Linux platform.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.